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"The new Crank-E is invertible and has two-wheel drive and a 22-kilogram central vertical asymmetric spinner which rotates at 6,000 revolutions per minute with a tip speed of 250 miles per hour."

— The Robot Wars website

Crank-E's turntable shot

Built over two months, Crank-E was constructed from high-performance structural steel and wear plate, and runs on a two-wheel drive, which makes the robot invertible. Its weapon was a 22kg vertical asymmetric spinner consisting of four hardened steel bars. The weapon rotated at 6000rpm to deliver a tip speed of 223mph. Its front armour was curved inwards to form a front shield, designed to make the robot 'spinner proof'. Crank-E was decorated with googly eyes.

The internal foil used by Crank-E

The insides of Crank-E were lined with aluminium foil tape, to protect the robot from the flame pit. Crank-E's wheels were the same type as use in Pussycat, following on from Kill-E-Crank-E's wheels reusing material from Bodyhammer.

"The name Crank-E was a step on the evolutionary ladder towards Kill-E-Crank-E, so while the robot design evolved forwards, the name evolved backwards."

— Robin Herrick on the etymology of Crank-E

The name Crank-E is derivative of the robot's predecessor Kill-E-Crank-E, which was in turn inspired by the Scottish Highland town of Killiecrankie, where a famous battle took place in 1689, also referencing the "crank" shape of the original machine which remained loosely intact with Crank-E. Robin Herrick notes that as Crank-E evolved the design of Kill-E-Crank-E forwards, he wished to 'evolve the name backwards' by shortening Kill-E-Crank-E to just Crank-E, a conscious move to differentiate the two machines.

However, when the battle started, Crank-E made a fatal mistake straight away by targeting Aftershock before its spinner had reached high speeds, and with TMHWK blocking its escape route, Aftershock threw Crank-E into the air, causing shards to fly from the machine as it landed directly on its face. This gave Aftershock the chance to launch a barrage of hits, buffeting Crank-E towards Shunt, where the two robots dealt the killer blows, taking Crank-E out of the running straight away. Panels of Crank-E were torn away from the body, and the robot was left dormant after a flip from Shunt.

Aftershock pushed the immobile Crank-E over the arena spikes, where it was axed by Shunt, held aloft by a spike. There, Crank-E was joined by the beaten TMHWK, and cease was called. Humorously, the arena spike next to Crank-E fell out of its position, but Aftershock and Sabretooth progressed, while Crank-E was eliminated.